Taken
by moonwilow
Summary: This is AU. This is the revised version of my story, Captive. Katara, princess of the prosperous Southern Water Tribe is captured while fighting to keep her tribe safe, and eventually saved by Zuko. The Hundred Year war is still present, but there is no Avatar to be found.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, chapter one of the revised version of Captive is now officially here! Hopefully this doesn't completely suck. Disclaimer: I'm 15, do you think I'm old enough to own ATLA? No, so don't annoy me. For the record, this is AU so things will be very different. Just pretend that Katara's mother is a waterbender and hasn't died yet because in this story, there has been very small raids on the Southern Water Tribe. Enjoy!**

Freedom, I longed for it like a starved man longed for food. When had I last saw the daylight, the white snow of my homeland? I remember the day I was captured, clear as if it had just happened.

_**Flashback**_

The snow had fallen in black sheets, the clear sign of any Fire Nation raid. It was obvious that a whole fleet had come, to destroy what we had kept safe for duration of the war. Sokka was rallying the warriors with our father, Chief Hakoda. I had been sent to gather the waterbenders with my mother, the chieftass, and Hama, the best waterbender in our tribe. We needed to protect our home at all costs.

The black snow began to fall harder, time was running out. There were a few waterbenders leading the elderly and children out of the city, but panic was clear amoung the entire tribe. There was a very slim chance that our warriors and waterbenders would defeat the Fire Nation fleet.

I shook these thoughts from my mind and ran with the rest of the waterbenders to where we were assembling, which was near the warriors. The latter elicted a battle cry. I looked around seeing faces painted in the traditional design, a tribute to our patron spirits. The warriors had the design of the wolf (a.n think of Sokka's warrior paint) and the waterbenders faces were painted with one side black and the other white. It was hard to tell the women from the men with the paint and the armor. This made it harder for the Fire Nation to pick out key figures.

I went to stand in the front of the group of waterbenders next to Hama. "Today, we stand against the tyranny known as the Fire Nation to defend our homes! Our families! Our future! May Tui and La guide us this day in hopes we may live to see another day!" As princess of our tribe, and a waterbender, it was my job to give a speech of encouragement before the fighting began. A battle cry rang out amongst my fellow waterbenders before I finished, "Don't give up hope, and never stop believing that we can win in hopes to end this war!" Hama and my mother both stepped forward to give orders and directions for the waterbending portion of our troops.

As the warriors and waterbenders seperated to their individual battalions, the first fireball was launched into the wall protecting our city. Chaos ensued for a brief moment until everyone got their bearings. I looked toward my father and brother, giving them a nod showing them that the waterbenders were ready. My father raised his hand telling all the troops to wait for his signal.

The wall shook from an outside force, then was pierced by the gangplanks of the enemies' ships. Thousands of troops emerged from the gangplanks both on foot and on a huge animal that had a horn atop its head. My father dropped his hand signaling the ok to attack. Both sides ran forward. We were now in the fight of our lives, to protect our homeland as well as our future.


	2. Chapter 2

**I feel so horrible for not updating sooner! For those of you still reading this, I love you so much! Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. And for the record, Katara is 17 and Sokka is 18.**

The pure white snow was stained with the crimson blood of both my comrades and the enemy. Healers ran about, trying to get the wounded to safety. All around me, I could hear the sounds of metal clashing against metal, and the fizz of fire meeting water. I also heard the moaning of the wounded and dying.

As I was attacking one enemy soldier with a waterwhip, and running another through with my spear, I saw my mother falling to the ground while the enemy took a blood covered spear out of her stomach. As much as I wanted to scream, I couldn't. Her sacrifice couldn't be in vain.

Our troops were being forced back to the remnants of our once prosperous city. Everything was burning to the ground.

For every enemy soldier I took out, another two would appear. We were hopelessly outnumbered. Why wouldn't the Chief sound the retreat signal? My answer came soon enough when I heard my brother sound the call, his face wet with tears. At his feet, was the body of the Chief, my father.

Everything became chaotic. Everyone seemed to fall around me as we ran. When I caught up to my brother, I was completely out of breath. Would the rest of the warriors even make it to freedom?

I knew that one of us had to stay behind and make sure that everyone survived, Sokka began to speak, but I wouldn't allow him to.

"I know that you most likely want to stay behind, but you're now the chief, you need to make sure the tribe stays united. The tribe doesn't need me, go on."

"Come on, you know the tribe adores you, I think they like you better than me." Sokka always trying to protect me.

"It doesn't matter, you're chief now. If I don't return, assume I'm dead." With that, I ran back into the midst of the retreat. I had to help these people get to safety, my people.

I had no time to think of my family, just the safety of the tribe, like any proper princess. All I needed to do was provide a distraction. I rose an ice wall, which was immediatly destroyed by a multiple fireballs. I rose it up multiple times, however, I was running out of energy. As I rose my last ice wall, it was shattered, the force of it sending me backwards. The last thing I remember was thinking that I was sorry I couldn't help my tribe.

_**End of Flashback**_

I remember that when I awoke, there was a deep darkness and stifling heat. However, my mind immediatly went back to my tribe. How many made it out alive?


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, then I would not be wr****iting fanfiction. **

**Thank you raidersfan777 for always reviewing.**

It must have been midday, since the guards were bringing around buckets of water along with sponges attached to spears. After being here, I released being fed was few and far between, all we ever received was water. My body became weaker each day, since nourishment wasn't coming my way. I was skin and bones.**  
**

As the guards came around to my cage, they handcuffed me and put the sponge to my mouth. My first few days here, I refused to lower myself to such standards, but the thirst won out. It was too hot in here, and without water I would die. Eventually, the sponge was taken out of my mouth and I was jerked out of my cage. What was going on? I was dragged out of "hell" and led down a long corridor with multiple doors. My waterbending told me that we were on a ship. However, I knew that I was too weak to attempt an escape.

We eventually stopped near a metal door which looked unused. It was rusted, and looked quite old. I was thrown into the room, which was empty. I heard something latch at the door, telling me I was locked in. As I looked around the room, I saw multiple instruments which looked as though they were meant to inflict pain on someone. I wouldn't be surprised. There looked to be dried blood on the walls. Why was I here?

I heard the door unlatch, and open creakily. In walked two men, one who looked quite arrogant and had monkey like sideburns. His posture implied that he was someone of high ranking. The other man had was short and stocky. He was bald and had a grin that chilled me to the bone. It was a grin that implied that he would be glad to shed my blood.

The monkey-faced man began to talk. "My name is Commander Zhao, and yoou will answer all my questions _water peasant_," which sounded like a curse upon his tongue, "Or my assitant will be glad to use some...methods to get you to talk." The man called Zhao had gotten closer to my face, so close that I could smell his breath. It smelled like blood and ash. No clue how that was possible. I spat in his face. I would never tell this man anything

"If that's how you want to play this, then we'll do it all the hard way." the commander motioned to his "assistant" who took what looked like a knife out of his pocket. This was about to get very ugly, very quickly.

**Hello my lovelies. It's not as long as I wish it to be, but it's all I had time for. I have summer homework that I've been procrastinating on. Sorry for all grammar and spelling errors. I need some of my readers to review. Without encouragement, or critiques, I won't have the drive to finish. So please review. I would greatly appreciate it. The more you review, the quicker I'll update. **


	4. Chapter 4

The commander grabbed my arms roughly, and tried to drag me to what looked like a hook on the ceiling. I struggled my hardest, considering I wasn't in the best condition. I kicked and bit and screamed. However, that wasn't enough to deter the commander, he put the chain of my handcuffs on the hook.

"Now, I'll ask you a few simple questions. If you decline to answer or lie to me...Well, let's just say you really should answer these questions truthfully. Some of your _comrades, _have informed me that you are the princess of the Southern Water Tribe. Is this true?" For one, none of my comrades would rat me out. Would they? I did my best to look dignified, despite my position.

"You're mistaken, I'm not the princess. Besides, none of us would give the princess up to _you_!" Zhao just shook his head and chuckled.

"Wrong answer," with that, the short man walked over to me and dug the knife into my side. I refrained from screaming, I wouldn't show weakness in front of these monsters.

"I'll ask you again. Are you the princess?" I shook my head, because if I had answered verbally, screaming would have been emitted. The "assistant" twisted the knife that was already in my side, then took it back out. He then put it back into my side, twisting it once more. The same question was asked multiple times with the same result. This seemed to go on for an hour, each time, different forms of torture coming up. I was whipped, my legs and ribs were broken, and I had been stabbed multiple times. Zhao seemed to grow bored, considering I never answered him. He motioned to the short man to exit.

"You're lucky, we're done for today. However, tomorrow you'll have a new interrogator. The prince isn't known for his kindness. Be lucky I'm not sending you to the soldiers. They haven't seen a pretty face in such a long time." With that, he walked out laughing like a loon, leaving me hanging on the hook, with blood dripping from my side. Black was beginning to take over my vision from the blood loss and pain. For the first time, in a very long time, I prayed to the spirits, out of hope that mercy would be shown to me.

**Review or I will not continue. I'm hoping by giving you two updates in one day, you'll review. Show you're love through a lovely review. Do you get the hint? No review=very long time for updates. Lots=quicker updates.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to my reviewers:**

**raidersfan777**

**Princess of Olympus**

**FlyingTurtleduck- thank you for the advice**

**Walkman100**

**Disclaimer: I most definately do not own Avatar the Last Airbender. **

**In this story, Zuko is 19. Just a reminder, Katara is 17 and Sokka is 18.**

As I began to wake up, I felt like I was lying on a cloud. I bolted upright, which I soon realized was a bad idea. The pain in my side and my back reminded me of what I had gone through. Was it the day before? How long had I been out? Anyway, I laid back down and began to observe my surroundings. There were several other beds in the room, similar to what I was lying on. There was a small desk, and above that a few shelves. The contents on the shelves looked like herbs and different medical equipment. It was obvious that I was in the healer's room.

I saw that my foot was chained to the bed. This was humiliating. I looked down at my clothes, and noticed that I was no longer in my blue clothes. I was in something akin to a brown rag that covered my torso and brown pants. I immediately reached up to my neck to check if my necklace was still there. Thankfully, it was. It was the only thing that kept me sane and helped me remember who I was.

The door opened, revealing Zhao as well as two other people. One of them was a cheery looking man who had greying hair as well as a topknot on his head. He wore armor, but didn't look like the typical soldier. He looked like he could be my grandfather. The other person looked to be about 19. He had shaggy black hair that hung down into his face. There was an angry looking scar on the right side of his face. As a healer, my curiosity was peaked, but as a soldier, I knew that he was none of my concern.

Zhao introduced the new strangers, whom he obviously believed to be my superiors. "Prince Zuko and General Iroh, this is the suspected _princess_," he spat out my title, "None of my methods yielded anything new. I believe it is time for you to take over, your _highness_," he spat that out as well, and then walked out of the room.

The general and apparent prince began to speak in muffled voices, occasionally glancing my way. What was going on?

**Okay, got that out. Please review, it keeps my spirits high. And if it seemed like blackmail last time, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound that way. So I'll ask you nicely. Would you please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to my reviewers:**

**zukoforever**

**raidersfan777**

**Walkman 100**

**icantfindaname**

**Disclaimer: Is this necessary?**

**Toph: Yes it is. If you don't do it, I'll have to earthbend you all the way to the Fire Nation.**

**Me: *sulks* I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender. How's that**

**Toph: What? I was just picking my toes**

**Gaang: TOPH!**

**Btw, this chapter is Zuko's POV unless stated otherwise.**

Damn-it! What were we supposed to do with this woman, or at least that's what I thought she was. She was in no condition to be moved around. I'm sure she was getting suspicious with all the glances and fingers we were pointing her way. Sure enough, when I looked her way, I saw a guarded look on her face.

"Uncle!" I whispered furiously, "Can we at least do this away from the supposed 'princess', the last thing we need is for her not to trust us!" Uncle nodded his head.

"For once Prince Zuko, you make a valid point," What the hell was that supposed to mean! Calm yourself Zuko, the last thing you need is to set the room on fire. I took a deep breath in, and released.

"Very good Prince Zuko, I see you calmed yourself down, now, regarding the supposed princess, shall we talk outside?" I nodded my had, but stopped Uncle Iroh from moving quite yet.

"I need to get some answers, I'll meet you outside, let me talk to her." Uncle nodded his head and walked out. I decided to use the intimidating approach. I straightened my posture, put my arms behind my back, and let a scowl take up my features. Maybe I'd get some information after all.

"Well, _princess," _I spat out, "I'd like some answers," she just looked at me, cerulean eyes wide in disbelief, and one eyebrow raised. Why wasn't she scared? Oh yeah, Zhao had already gotten to her. I hated that man. His idea of interrogation was torture. Mine was empty threats. Working as double agent, obviously not for the Fire Lord, I had to appear bloodthirsty. In actuality, I hated bloodshed and the sooner this war was over the better.

I slid my palm down my face, this wasn't working out, she didn't look the least bit intimidated. I already knew she was the princess, I had met up with the resistance a few days before, which included her brother, who showed a painting of his sister, Princess Katara. The necklace she had on didn't help her case either. However, the only people who knew what it truly meant were Water Tribe members and members of the resistance.

I walked up to the chair near her bed, and whispered in her ear. "I know you're the princess, Princess Katara. I know your brother, Prince Sokka. I have a proposition for you," She looked at me as if I had two heads. I probably would do the same thing.

Chances are, she didn't believe me. All I had to do was convince her I was telling the truth. But how?

**Hi everyone, you're reviews have been quite encouraging. The alerts and favoriting has been too. So, you know the drill. Please R&R. **

**-Moonwilow**


	7. Author

**Thank you to my reviewers:**

**raidersfan777**

**t-rex989**

**Princess of Olympus**

**Jasmine**

**SarahARivera**

**So basically, I have hit a road block with this story, I'm not sure what to do. If anyone has any suggestions on what I should write or where I should go with this story, I'd love to hear from you. Until then, ciou.**


	8. AN

**I have started writing the next chapter, however I have been having some family problems so it will be a while until the next chapter is up. I am so sorry for the delay, please forgive me. I will post it ASAP. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc. please feel free to PM me or write up a review. Again, I'm so sorry, please forgive me.**

**-Sincerely yours,**

**Moonwilow**


	9. Chapter 7

**Hello! I'm back! Who missed me? Anyway, back to the story welcome to chapter seven which probably isn't as good as I'd like it to be but I haven't written in forever so yeah. Oh, and I'll do a disclaimer. Unfortunately I don't own Katara, Zuko, or the Avatar world. If only…**

**Katara's POV**

Okay, so this guy might be in line with my brother, who knows. My father always told me never to trust anyone unless they proved themselves, and even then to be wary of them. So far, I've stuck to that theory and it's kept me alive. He looked as trustworthy as a mother polar bear dog. You don't want to mess with one of those. Sokka learned that the hard way. Oh, you should have heard him, screaming and running away like a little girl.

Anyway, I'll just have to test him. Afterall, if he truly knew Sokka he would know all of Sokka's…quirks. I glanced at the man thinking that I might make him sweat a little, after all, it was the only freedom I had left.

"What makes you think I'm the princess, you're_ highness_?" my voice dripping with fake innocence.

The prince just raised his eyebrow, not believing any of the innocence in my tone. He directed his eyes to what looked like my throat, instantly causing my hand to reach for my necklace, which caused the pain in my side to intensify, eliciting a gasp from me. If he knew the significance of my necklace, I would be executed for sure giving me no more chance to help save my nation and ensure the safety of my brother.

"Alright, so let's pretend I was the princess for a second, and presuming Prince Sokka was my brother, how do you know him?" The prince gave a light chuckle as if remembering some funny memory.

"First off, we aren't pretending that you are the princess, because you are in fact Princess Katara. As proved by your necklace. Would you like any further explanation, or would you like for me to explain what your necklace means to prove I know exactly who you are?"

At that moment, I began to panic and attempted to flee, thus once more putting myself in more pain due to my broken ribs, and by left leg which was also broken (a.n. I know I said both her legs were broken, that was a typo. I meant for only one to be broken). If he truly knew who I was, is he going to reveal it to everyone else, or torture me with the knowledge that he can blackmail me? What the hell am I supposed to do? Tui and La preserve me!

**I know not my best, sorry for the shortness, I'm trying to get back into writing mode, so forgive me. I'm hoping to start writing longer chapters. And please review!**


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